Maine Democratic Party: Republicans Make Their Case in Lawsuit to Strike Down Affordable Care Act Made Possible By Susan Collins

AUGUSTA, Maine, June 26 -- The Maine Democratic Party issued the following news release:

The last day for the Trump administration and their Republican allies to file briefs in their case to strike down the Affordable Care Act which was "sparked" by Senator Susan Collins' vote for the 2017 GOP tax law. If the Supreme Court rules to strike down the ACA, coverage protections for hundreds of thousands of Mainers with preexisting conditions would be eliminated.

As the coronavirus crisis continues to impact communities across the country, more Americans are relying on the ACA to get health care coverage following the loss of their jobs and employer-provided health insurance. A new analysis from the Center for American Progress estimates that if the Republican lawsuit is successful, nearly 100,000 Mainers could lose health coverage entirely if the ACA is overturned during the pandemic.

While Collins has tried to distance herself from the lawsuit, she had full knowledge that her support for the GOP tax law would put the ACA in jeopardy. In 2012, she signed an amicus brief arguing that the ACA could not stand without the individual mandate and then went on to vote to repeal the individual mandate five years later.

"Make no mistake: Susan Collins is responsible for Trump's crusade to take away our health care in the midst of this pandemic," said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. "We deserve a Senator who champions health care for every Mainer, but Collins has voted over and over to put our care in jeopardy."